1. Have students test a variety of objects for the ability to sink or float. Students

inquiry

should make lists of “Sinkers”, “Floaters” and “Both”—objects that may do either

Science as Inquiry:

depending on the circumstances (example—a paper towel).

Understanding about scientific

2. Make a large list on the board to compare the results.

inquiry

Teacher note: Exactly why an object will float or sink depends on a variety of factors

Physical Science:

including the weight, density, shape, etc.

Properties of objects and materials
Going Further (optional):
1. Ask students to predict whether or not an object will sink or float before testing it.
2. Give students a lump of clay. Under what conditions will it sink? Float? (A lump of
clay will sink if it is in a compact shape such as a sphere. It can float if the shape is
altered into a bowl.)

4

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Materials:

All

Activity One:

Buoyancy

Objective:

Modeling clay

The National Science Education Standards

Students will understand that objects
immersed in water apparently weigh

Activity Two:

less due to the physical property of

Coffee can with lid

buoyancy.

String

Time:

Pail or bucket large enough to cover

30 minutes

the coffee can

Group Size:

Water

Small group (3-4)

Science as Inquiry:

Teacher Background:

Abilities necessary to do scientific

Liquids exert an upward force on an immersed or floating object. This upward force is

inquiry

called buoyancy. The larger the surface area of the object, the greater the area for the

Science as Inquiry:

water to push back on. Ships such as Titanic are made out of steel. Put a lump of steel

Understanding about scientific

in the water and it will sink. Spread the same lump out into a boat shape with thin

inquiry

walls and it can float.

Physical Science:
Properties of objects and material

Procedure: Activity One

Earth and Space Science:

Take a ball of modeling clay and put in some

Properties of earth materials

water. What happens? It sinks. Now take the
same piece of clay and spread it out into a bowl
shape. Put it on the water and it will float.
Why? (The buoyant force of the water has more
surface area on which to act.)
Procedure: Activity Two:
1. Fill the coffee can with water. Cover it with the
lid.
2. Cut a string or cord about 1 yard or 1 meter in
length. Double the string for strength and attach
it to the can so that it can be held by the loop.
3. Lower the can into a bucket of water. Have students lift it to the surface of the water, noticing
how much effort it takes.
4. Have the students lift the can out of the bucket.
Does it feel heavier or lighter than when it was in
the water (it should feel heavier).

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

5

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Materials:

Upper elementary, middle, high

Dishpan

Displacement

Objective:

Water

Students will understand how dis-

Scale

placement is a factor in how ships can

One or two pound coffee can

float

Objects that float. Note: try to make

Time:

them as large as possible but still able

30 minutes

to fit into the can

Group Size:
Small group

The National Science Education Standards
Science as Inquiry:

Teacher Background:

Abilities necessary to do scientific

Have you ever noticed that when you get into a bathtub that the water level rises?

inquiry

That is because your body displaces (pushes aside) a volume of water. When a ship is

Science as Inquiry:

in the water, it also displaces a volume of water. If the weight of the ship is less than

Understanding about scientific

the weight of the water displaced, then water’s buoyant force is capable of keeping the

inquiry

ship afloat. A ship that is launched sinks into the ocean until the weight of the water

Physical Science:

it displaces is just equal to its own weight. As the ship is loaded, it sinks deeper, displac-

Properties of objects and materials

ing more water.

Earth and Space Science:
Properties of earth materials

Archimedes’ Principle: An object will float if it displaces a volume of water whose
weight is the same as its own. An object will sink if it weighs more than the volume of
water it displaces.
Titanic’s displacement was
66,000 tons of water. That’s
how ship builders refer to the
weight of the ship plus fuel
and cargo.
Procedure:
1. Weigh a large dishpan and record its weight.
2. Place a coffee can into the dishpan.
3. Fill the can to the very top with water. Wipe the outer surface of the can and dishpan dry.
4. Weigh a large block of wood or other object that floats.
5. Place it in the can. What happens? (The water will be displaced and overflow into
the dishpan.)
6. Remove the coffee can and block from the dishpan.
7. Now weigh the dishpan with the water in it. Calculate the weight of the water by
subtracting the weight of the dishpan and compare it to the weight of the object.
(The two weights should be the same.) Repeat this activity with several other
objects that float.
To sum it up, large metal ships float because they weigh the same or less than the
water they displace. The trick is to keep it that way!

6

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Group Size:

Upper elementary, middle, high

Small group (3-4)

Design a Ship

Objective:

Materials

Students will use principles of buoy-

Aluminum foil

ancy and displacement to design,

Paper cutter or scissors

build and test simple boats to deter-

Marbles or other weights

mine which will hold the most cargo

Ruler
Dishpan(s)

Time:

The National Science Education Standards

Water

One class period

Science as Inquiry:

Procedure:

Abilities necessary to do scientific

1. Fill dishpans with water and place them at a central testing station. Place a bowl of

3. Challenge the students to design a boat that can float and hold marbles using only

inquiry
Physical Science:
Properties of objects and materials

this one piece of aluminum foil. Who can build a boat to hold the largest number
of marbles?
3. Test the boats by floating them in

Earth and Space Science:

the dishpan and adding weights

Properties of earth materials

one at a time until it sinks. What

Science and Technology:
Abilities of technological design

boat shape(s) work best?
4. Ask students to compare and con-

Science and Technology:

trast each other’s boats and identify

Understanding about science and

the factors that make some float

technology

better than others. (Boats designed
to maximize the amount of surface
area for water’s buoyant force to
work on will do best. An example of this is the flat bottomed barge.)
5. Allow students to refine their boats and retest them.
Note: An aluminum boat can easily hold 50 marbles.
Going further (optional):
Ask students to predict how much weight will sink their boats and then test them,
using the knowledge gained in the first part of the experience. Hold a competition in
which the score is based on how close a boat was to holding the highest weight in its
class and the other is based on how closely the student’s prediction matched the outcome.

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

7

Teacher Background:

ACTIVITY

One of the advanced safety features of
the Titanic was the use of “watertight”

Watertight
Bulkheads

bulkheads (walls). The lower part of
the ship was divided by 15 bulkheads
into 16 compartments. In the event of
a leak, watertight doors (left) were
closed, sealing off the compartment.
The ship could float with two of the

HOW TO CARRY
SEAWATER AS CARGO

compartments flooded and would sur-

The National Science Education Standards

When the Titanic was designed, the

or

vive with the forward four compartments underwater.

expectation was that something
Science as Inquiry:

would make one hole in the side of

Abilities necessary to do scientific

the ship. Watertight doors would

inquiry

lower, sealing the bulkhead. With

Science as Inquiry:

waterproof bulkheads extending up

Understanding about scientific

through several decks of the ship, a

inquiry

single hole might cause one or two

Physical Science:

compartments to flood, but the

Properties of objects and materials

remaining ones would remain dry.

Earth and Space Science:

While this would increase the weight

Properties of earth materials

of the ship, the ship would still displace enough water to allow it to float. No one

Science and Technology:

expected something that would cause an opening or openings to extend through sev-

Abilities of technological design

eral compartments at one time.

Science and Technology:
Understanding about science and

At the time that the Titanic sank, most people believed that the iceberg inflicted a

technology

continuous 300-foot-long gash down the side of the ship. Only one expert, a naval
architect named Edward Wilding, who worked for Harland and Wolff (the builders of
the Titanic), believed otherwise. In testimony given in 1912, Wilding asserted that the
iceberg damage could have been very small, consisting of a series of small openings,
perhaps only three-quarters of an inch wide. He arrived at this conclusion after studying the survivors' testimonies. In his opinion, since the ship flooded unevenly in six
compartments, each compartment must have had its own opening to the sea. He held
that a gash as long and large as commonly assumed would have sunk the ship in minutes rather than hours. His testimony was ignored by the media and public and people
continued to believe that an
enormous gaping gash sank
the ship.
In a 1996 expedition
to the ship, scientists
used new sonar technology to see through the

Titanic contained 16 watertight compartments.

45 feet of mud that covered
Titanic’s bow. Working something like a medical ultrasound, sound waves created an
acoustic image of the starboard (right) bow. They found that Titanic’s wound was in
fact a series of six thin slits, some less than an inch wide. The total area of damage was
only about 12 square feet—about the size of a human body, just as Edward Wilding calculated 84 years earlier.

8

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Grade Levels:

Group Size:

Upper elementary, middle, high

Small group (3-4)

Watertight
Bulkheads

Objective:

Materials:

Students will understand the purpose

Three 2-liter soda bottles

of watertight bulkheads in maintain-

Knife or scissors

ing buoyancy in ships by preserving

Dishpan

sufficient displacement so that a dam-

Duct tape

aged ship can still float.

Weights (fishing weights, clay balls)

Time:

Timer

One class period

Continued from previous page...
Procedure:
1. Cut the side off a two-liter bottle. Place
it on its side with the cap in place. This
will be your boat.
2. Add enough weight to the boat so that

bottle

it floats evenly with the cap half covered by water.
3. Remove the cap. Time how long it takes
the â&#x20AC;&#x153;boatâ&#x20AC;? to sink.
4. Dry the boat and weights.
5. Cut the bottoms off two other 2-liter

weights

bottles. Insert them into the boat to create watertight bulkheads. Tape them in place.
6. Add the weights from before, spreading them evenly between the 3 compartments.
7. Remove the cap and time how long it takes the boat to sink.
8. Can you figure out a way to keep the boat floating with one compartment
flooded?

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

9

PART TWO

Iceberg Statistics

What
Sank the
Titanic?

Icebergs come in a range of sizes
and shapes.
• Growlers:
less than 3 feet high and 16 feet
long
• Bergy Bits:
3-13 feet (1-4m) high and 15-46 (514m) feet long
• Small:
14-50 feet (5-15m) high and 47200 feet (15-60m) long
• Medium:
51-150 feet (16-45m) high and
201-400 feet (61-122m) long
• Large:
151-240 feet (46-75m) high and

IceBERG ScIENCE

401-670 feet (123-213m) long
• Very Large:
Over 240 feet (75m) high and 670

An iceberg in the North Atlantic

feet (214m) long

Background on Icebergs
is that of the 15,000 to 30,000 icebergs
The story of the iceberg that sank Titanic

produced yearly by the glaciers of

began about 3,000 years ago. Snow fell

Greenland, only one percent (150 to 300)

on the ice cap of Greenland. The snow

make it to the Atlantic Ocean. Once an

never melted. Over the course of the

iceberg reaches the “warm” water (32-40°

next forty to fifty years, it was com-

F) of the Atlantic, it usually lasts only a

pressed into ice and became part of a gla-

few months. Very few icebergs are found

cier—a river of ice. Due to its enormous

south of the line of 48 North latitude.

weight, the glacier flowed toward the sea

Titanic’s iceberg collision took place at

at a rate of up to sixty-five feet per day.

approximately 41° 56’ degrees North lati-

Like the snow that formed it, the glacier

tude and 50° 14’ degrees West longitude.

ice was fresh water ice.
About 7/8ths (87%) of an iceberg is below
When the glacier reached the sea, huge

the water line. No one is exactly sure

chunks or slabs were weakened and bro-

how large Titanic’s iceberg was, but

ken off by the action of rising and falling

according to eyewitness reports it was

tides. One of these became Titanic’s ice-

approximately 50 to 100 feet high and

berg. The iceberg slowly made its way

200 to 400 feet long. It was tall enough

down the coast of Greenland through

to leave ice chunks on one of Titanic’s

Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait into the

upper decks.

Atlantic Ocean. Most icebergs melt long
before reaching the ocean. One estimate

10

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Materials:

All

Balloonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;9 inch or larger

Making an
Iceberg

Objective:

Water

Students will realize that the majority

Salt

of an iceberg is located below the sur-

Freezer

face of the water

Scissors

Time:

Ruler

Overnight preparation, 30 minutes in

Clear aquarium

class

For middle school and high school

Group Size:

students, Wax pencil and Graph paper

The National Science Education Standards

Classroom demonstration

Physical Science:

Procedure:

Properties and changes of proper-

1.

ties in matter

end of the balloon to seal the water

Earth and Space Science:

inside.

Properties of earth materials

2. Put the balloon inside a plastic bag

Fill a balloon with salt water. Tie the

and leave the bag in the freezer
overnight.
3. Remove the balloon from the freezer
and use the scissors to carefully cut away
the balloon.
4. Put the iceberg in an aquarium filled
with fresh (tap) water and observe. How
much of the ice is below the water? How
much is above? Use the ruler to measure
how much is above and below the water line, measuring to the top and bottom of
the iceberg. What percent of the iceberg is below the surface (about 87%). Where is
the widest point of the icebergâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;above or below the water line (below).
5. For middle school and high school students: Draw the outline of the iceberg and
the water line onto the aquarium using a wax pencil. Trace the outline onto paper,
copy onto graph paper and distribute to students. Have students calculate the area
of the outline above and below the water line. What percent of the iceberg is above
or below the water line? (approximately 87%).

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

11

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Group Size:

Upper elementary, middle, high

Individual

Plotting
Icebergs and
Locations

Objective:

Materials:

Students will locate key locations in

Student worksheet, “Plotting Icebergs”

order to understand the geography of

Map

the Titanic story. Older students will

Colored pencils

use geographic coordinates to plot the
historic positions of icebergs and of
the Titanic during its voyage.
Time:
One class period

Procedure:

The National Social Studies Standards

1. Have students locate key locations in Titanic’s story. Write the names on the map.
• Belfast, Ireland—where it was built
• Southampton, England—where the journey began

Time, Continuity, and Change:

• Cherbourg, France—first stop

Identify and use various sources

• Queenstown, Ireland—second stop

for reconstructing the past, such as

• West coast of Greenland—where the iceberg formed

documents, letters, diaries, maps,

• Path of iceberg down the coast of Greenland, past Labrador

textbooks, photos, and others.
People, Places and Environments:
Interpret, use and distinguish various representations of the earth,
such as maps, globes, and photo-

• New York, USA—destination
2. Have students plot the locations of the icebergs and ice fields reported to Titanic on
April 14 using the student worksheet and map.
3. Plot the location of Titanic’s location per its distress call and the final location of
the wreck.

graphs.
People, Places and Environments:
Use appropriate resources, data
sources and geographic tools such
as atlases, data bases, grid systems,
charts, graphs, and maps to generate, manipulate, and interpret
information.
People, Places and Environments:
Locate and distinguish among
varying landforms and geographic
features, such as mountains,
plateaus, islands, and oceans.

12

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

STUDENT WORKSHEET

Plotting Icebergs

Ice Warnings
Titanic is known to have received a total of seven ice warnings over a period of three days (April 12-14). This includes
one not sent directly to her, but which she is known to have
overheard and one received directly from a passing ship via

Longitude

blinker signal.
Latitude

Throughout the day of April 14, 1912, Titanic received several
wireless messages providing the locations of icebergs and
field ice. Plot the locations of icebergs as received in the following messages. Use different colors of highlighters for the
messages that indicate large areas of ice.

Positions on the earth are measured
in terms of latitude and longitude.
Latitude lines are drawn north and
south of the Equator. The Equator
has a latitude of 0°, while the North

A. 9am, Caronia to Titanic. “West bound steamers report bergs, growlers and field ice
in 42N, from 49°- 51°W.”
B. 1:42pm, Baltic to Titanic. “Greek steamer Athinai reports passing icebergs and large
quantities of field ice in 41° 51’N, 49° 52’...Wish you and Titanic all success.”

Pole is 90°N and the South Pole is
90°S.
Longitude is a measure of location
east or west of the Prime Meridian.
The Prime Meridian is 0°, the line

C. 1:45p.m, Message from Amerika to the United States Hydrographic Office, relayed
by Titanic. “Amerika passed two large icebergs in 41° 27’N. 50° 8’W on April 14.”
D. 7:30pm, Californian to Antillian, overheard by Titanic: “42° 3’N. 49° 9’W. Three large
bergs 5 miles to the southwards of us.”

on the opposite side of the world is
180°.
The first number in a measurement
of latitude or longitude is given in
degrees. If the location is more spe-

gitude 49° to 50° 30’W saw much heavy pack ice and great number of large icebergs,

minutes—divisions of 60, just as on

also field ice, weather good, clear.” This message was never sent to the bridge

a clock.

because the radio operator on duty was busy with passenger messages.
F. 10:55 p.m., Californian stopped for the night due to heavy field ice at 42° 5’N, 50°
7’W. It attempted to inform Titanic of this but was cut off by Titanic’s wireless
operator.

The National Science Education Standards
Earth and Space Science:
Structure of the Earth system
Earth and Space Science:

Perspectives:

Perspectives:
Risks and Benefits

The National Social Studies Standards

2. Have students create a bar graph showing

3. Have students calculate the average num-

5. Have students make independent deci-

Use knowledge of facts and con-

much smaller than in April of 1912. 1912

cepts drawn from history, along

Information to Share Before Step 5

was an unusually heavy year for icebergs. In

with elements of historical inquiry,

Why didn't Captain Smith slow the Titanic

fact, it had the highest reported incidence

to inform decision making about

based on the ice warnings he received? He

of April icebergs recorded until 1970, which

and action-taking on public issues.

certainly knew that ice had been spotted

had 501 icebergs in April.

People, Places and Environments:

near his position and in fact altered course

Examine the interaction of human

to a more southerly route.

beings and their physical environ-

Another related factor was that the wireless
operator on Titanic didn't deliver the last

ment, the use of land, building of

Captain Smith was following the practice

two ice warnings received to the bridge. A

cities, and ecosystem changes in

of all captains on the North Atlantic run by

message from the ship Mesaba, received

selected locales and regions.

maintaining his speed. People were paying

only hours before the collision, delineated

good money to go across the ocean and

the location of the ice field's eastern edge.

arrive on time. A captain who slowed down

Another message, in which the ship

merely on the basis of a warning would

Californian was notifying Titanic that they

wreck the schedule and hurt the company's

were surrounded by ice and had stopped for

reputation for on-time performance. All

the night (less than twenty miles away), was

captains sailed at full speed, trusting in the

cut off by Titanic’s wireless operator and

lookout's abilities to spot icebergs in time

never sent to the bridge.

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

15

STUDENT WORKSHEET

Calculating Iceberg Frequency

Iceberg Count Data South of 48째 N in
the North Atlantic, 1900-1912

One of the outcomes of the Titanic
disaster was the creation of the
International Ice Patrol. This
organization tracks and publishes
the locations of icebergs south of
48째 North longitude in the North

Year
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912

April Total
5
4
1
166
63
373
49
162
39
134
34
112
395

Yearly Total
88
81
48
802
266
822
428
635
207
1041
51
374
1038

Atlantic. This information allows
ships to avoid known icebergs, and
from the time of its
creation, no lives
have been lost due
to iceberg collisions.
The IIP was funded
by several different
countries with maritime
industries but was run by the
United States. It eventually became
part of the US Coast Guard. Each
year, the Coast Guard throws a
wreath into the water at the
coordinates of the Titanic in
commemoration.

*Data reported by the International Ice Patrol: Iceberg Count Data South of 48째 N in
the North Atlantic.

16

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Iceberg Impact

to Titanic is lower. The sub-bottom profiler shows damage approximately 4.6
meters long between Cargo Holds Nos. 1
and 2 (Point D).
The next area of damage was even further
below the water surface, about 20 feet
below the water line. The sonar imaging
shows large areas of damage about 10
meters in length between Cargo Holds
Nos. 2 and 3 (Point E). Cargo Hold 3 took

Teacher Background

the brunt of the damage. This space filled

Before 1985, when Titanicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wreck was dis-

with water the fastest at the time of the

covered, most people believed that the

collision. The last point of contact was

iceberg caused a 300-foot gash in the side

outside Boiler Room No. 6 (Point F).

of the ship. However, no signs of such a
large opening were found in the visible
parts of the wreck, but much remained
buried in the mud.
In 1996, Paul Matthias of Polaris Imaging
used a special piece of equipment called a
sub-bottom profiler to survey the bow of
the ship. The sub-bottom profiler emitted
acoustic (sound) signals capable of penetrating the seabed. The signals created an
acoustic image much like a medical ultrasound, allowing scientists to get images of
parts of the bow that were buried under
almost 20 yards of sediment.

Paul Matthias
These images show six separate openings
in the hull, most of them just thin slits.
Some of the slits were only as wide as a
human finger. The damage totaled no
more than 12 square feet, as was predicted
in 1912 by Edward Wilding, a naval
architect. Each of the gashes was along a
riveted seamâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a place where two separate
plates were held together by metal rivets.
The first openings occurred just below
the water line. The profiler found a
minor area of damage at the very front
of the ship (Point A) and two more areas
of damage of 1.2 and 1.5 meters in length
along a riveted seam in Cargo Hold No. 1
(Points B and C). It seems that Titanic
must have damaged the iceberg as well,
breaking away an underwater portion of
the berg, because the next set of damage

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

17

STUDENT HANDOUT

Areas of Damage

When scientists made explorations of Titanicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hull, they found that there

titanic iceberg dama

were actually six openings in the ship. Some of the slits were barely as
wide as a human finger. Each of the gashes were along a riveted seamâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a
place where two separate steel plates were held together by iron rivets.
The first openings occurred just below the water line. It seems that Titanic
must have damaged the iceberg as well, breaking away an underwater portion of the berg, because the next opening is lower. The next areas of damage are even further below the surface, about 20 feet below the water line.

TITANIC

F

18

E

D

C B

A

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Materials:

Elementary, middle, high

1 gallon can or milk jug

Water
Pressure

Objective:

Something to punch holes (screwdriv-

Students will understand that water

er, ice pick) Note: The teacher can

pressure increases quickly with depth.

make the holes in advance of con-

Time:

ducting the experiment with students

One class period

Duct tape

Group Size:

Water

Small group (3-4) or teacher-led

Measuring Water Pressure Student

demonstration

Page

The National Science Education Standards
Physical Science:

Teacher Background

Properties and changes of proper-

Modern naval architects used a computer model to analyze

ties in matter

the sinking. They calculated that immediately after Titanic

Earth and Space Science:

struck the iceberg, water began rushing into her hull at a rate

Structure of the earth system

of almost 7 tons per second. Although the holes in Titanic
were small, the high pressure 20 feet below the water line
would have forced water into the ship faster than through a
fire hose.
• 11:40 pm—Titanic strikes the iceberg
• 12 midnight—Titanic has taken on 7,450 tons of water and
the bow is starting to sink
• 12:40 am—One hour after impact. Titanic has taken on

25,000 tons of water
• 2:00 am—Titanic is flooded with 39,000 tons of water,
forcing the bow underwater and heaving the stern into the sky
4
3
2

To understand how quickly water pressure increases with depth,
conduct the following experiment.

1

Procedure:
1.

Punch or drill four holes in the container.

2.

Place pieces of tape over the holes.

3.

Fill the container with water. Ask students to make a pre-

diction—what will happen when the tape is removed? Will the
water stay in? Will it come out of all the holes equally?
4.

Place the container above a sink or dishpan.

5. Remove the tape. What do you observe? (The water will shoot out the holes. The
water pressure at the top of the container is less, so the water doesn’t shoot out as far.
The water pressure at the bottom is greater, causing the water to shoot out further.)
The series of openings in Titanic’s side included ones just below the water surface and
some 20 feet down. Which would flood fastest due to water pressure? (The lower ones)
There is an appreciable difference in the water pressure between the top and the bottom of the container, a distance of only a few inches. The difference between the pressure at the top of the ocean and twenty feet down is considerably more.

Measuring Water Pressure—Worksheet Answers

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

1. Water pressure increases 14.7 pounds per inch for

feet x .45 lbs/ft) = 23.6 lbs/in

every 33 feet or .45 pounds per foot as you descend.

3. Calculate the water pressure at 2.5 miles below

2. Calculate the water pressure at 20 feet below the

the surface 14.7 lbs/in + (5280 feet/mile x 2.5 miles

surface equals 14.7 lbs/in (surface pressure) + (20

x .45 lbs/ft) = 5954.7 lbs/in.... Almost 3 tons per inch!

19

STUDENT WORKSHEET

Measuring Water Pressure
Water pressure at the surface is basically the same as the air
pressure at sea level—14.7 pounds of pressure per square inch.
We don’t notice it because we are adapted to withstand that
pressure. This pressure is measured in units called “atmospheres” which equal 14.7 pounds.
Water pressure increases rapidly with depth. At thirty-three
feet below the surface, the pressure doubles to 29.4 pounds of
pressure per square inch. This is like adding the weight of a
heavy bowling ball to every square inch of an object at that
depth. With each 33-foot increase in depth, there is an increase
in water pressure equivalent to one atmosphere.
1.

For every 33 feet, water pressure increases 14.7 lbs/in.2 How
much does water pressure increase per foot?

2. Calculate the water pressure at 20 feet below the surface.
3. Calculate the water pressure at 2.5 miles below the surface, at
the wreck site
The Nautile, the manned submersible used to explore Titanic,
is one of only six in the world capable of operating under the
pressures at this depth.

20

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Rivet
Failure

Teacher Background:
One of the mysteries surrounding Titanic is why the ship sank so quickly. It truly was a
well-designed ship, yet a glancing blow from an iceberg sank it. Other ships had struck icebergs head on and survived. So why didn’t Titanic?
One area of inquiry has focused on the strength of the materials used in Titanic’s construction. Most of Titanic’s structure was made of iron in various forms. The plates that formed
the ship’s hull were made of steel and the rivets that held the plates together were made of
wrought iron. Lines of rivets held metal plates together, much like sewing thread holds
together two pieces of cloth. Investigations have shown the strength of the steel used in
the hull plates to be within normal limits for 1912, but at least some of the rivets were substandard. Dr. Tim Foecke of the National Institute
of Standards is conducting an ongoing investiga-

The National Science Education Standards

tion of the rivets.

Science as Inquiry:

Pure iron is a soft metal. A soft metal will crumple

Abilities necessary to do scientific

or bend on impact but still hold together, while a

inquiry

brittle one will break apart. The rivets were sup-

Science as Inquiry:

posed to be made of wrought iron, which is iron

Understanding about scientific

with 1 to 2 percent slag fibers running through it.

inquiry

Slag is a by-product of metalworking and can

Physical Science:
Properties and changes of properties in matter

Under construction. Notice the horizontal seams where steel plates were
riveted together. The impact with the
iceberg separated these seams.

Science and Technology:

consist of a variety of substances (silicon, sulfur,
phosphorus, aluminum, etc.) depending on its
source. Slag gives iron strength but also increases
its brittleness. Small amounts of slag (1-2%) make

Abilities of technological design

wrought iron, which is strong but not brittle. Modern forensic investigation, led by Dr.

Science and Technology:

Foecke, of rivets taken from the wreck show that the slag content in some of the rivets was

Understandings about science and

very high—between 6 and 10 percent, and the slag was present in large chunks, rather than

technology

small fibers. This combination made the rivets brittle and more prone to break under

History and Nature of Science:

stress—such as hitting an iceberg.

Science as a human endeavor
How did such poor quality rivets find their way onto Titanic? In 1912, the production of
wrought iron was still an art, rather than a science. Apprentices learned by working with
master craftsmen, with few of the techniques written down. It’s much the same as a master
chef demonstrating recipes without writing them down. Experience shows the chef how
to tell when something is done by look, feel or smell—a process he/she teaches to apprentices. It was the same for iron workers in 1912. Modern iron work includes a number of scientific tests to ensure the quality of the metal produced, but in 1912, it was up to the individual iron worker to recognize when the product was ready.
In 1912, the process went like this. A “pig” of molten iron was formed. Then slag was added,
the whole thing heated and tools like little rakes were drawn by hand through the melted
iron to take the slag that was floating on top and draw little fibers throughout the iron as
is it cooled.
Dr. Foecke hypothesizes that, in the drive to make enough rivets for both Titanic and
Olympic-—ships that were one third larger than anything before—it’s possible that the
manufacturer unintentionally didn’t allow sufficient time to work the wrought iron
enough to evenly draw the slag into little fibers throughout the iron. The wrought iron
produced would be like an incompletely mixed gravy, with lots of (microscopic) lumps.
Another plausible idea is that the manufacturer needed more workers and hired some people who were not as experienced. Dr. Foecke and his colleagues are currently researching
1912 methods of rivet production to see how likely these scenarios might have been.

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

21

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Materials:

Middle, high

Modeling clay (air drying)

Rivet
Failure

Objective:

Angel hair pasta

Students will measure how differences

Linguini

in material composition affect the

Gram scale (kitchen scales used by

strength of a substance and will apply

dieters often measure in grams as well

this knowledge to understand how

as ounces)

defective rivets may have contributed

Ruler (in millimeters)

to Titanicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sinking.

Weights (pennies, fishing weights)

Time:

Small plastic cup (from

One or two class periods

individual servings of apple sauce,

Group Size:

yogurt, etc.)

Small group (3-4)

String

Continued from previous page...

How much did the substandard rivets contribute to the tragedy? At this point, fewer than
100 rivets from Titanic have been studied. This is enough to know that some of them were
substandard, but not enough to show whether or not they caused a problem. If only a
small percentage of the 3 million rivets were bad and they were scattered randomly
throughout the ship, then they probably made no difference. On the other hand, if most
of the rivets were bad or if bad rivets were concentrated in certain areas, then those seams
would have opened more easily and the openings extended farther, which would have
caused Titanic to sink faster.
Procedure:
Advance preparation (can be done by the teacher or students)
1.

Weigh out 10 grams of angel hair pasta and break it into small pieces.

2. Weigh out 75 grams of clay.
3.

Mix the pasta pieces into the clay. Knead it until the pasta is
thoroughly mixed through the clay.

4. Roll out the clay into thin rods, 5 ml in diameter and 4 inches long.
Note: Working with the amounts listed above will give enough pasta/clay
mixture for several rods.
5. Repeat the above steps with the linguini.
6. Allow rods to air dry overnight.
In this experiment, the pasta is taking the part of slag and the clay represents the pure iron.
The angel hair rods and the linguini rods have the same weight of pasta mixed into them,
but the size of the pasta pieces is different. Ask students to predict which rods will be
stronger. Why? (Students may assume that the larger, thicker pieces of linguini will add to
the strength of the clay)
7. Take a small plastic cup. Punch two holes on opposite sides. Tie a length of string to
both sides to form a basket.
8. Take one of the rods, place it across a gap between piles of books or between two desks.
Suspend the basket from the rod.
9. Add weights to the basket until the rod breaks. Record how much weight it took to
break the rod.
10. Conduct several tests with angel hair and linguini rods. Average the results. What happened? (On average, the rods with linguini will break under less weight than the rods
with the angel hair. The larger linguini pieces create clumpy areas of weakness, much
as the larger chunks of slag did in the inferior rivets found in Titanic.)

22

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Material:

Upper elementary, middle high

Fixed focus 35mm camera. (The dis-

Create your Own
Photomosaic

Objective:

posable cameras sold at grocery stores

Students will be able to list at least

would work)

three scientific benefits of using the

Film

photomosaic technique

Measuring tape

Estimated Time:

Ladder

2 class periods

A large object with lots of detail such

Group Size:

as a classroom or fire truck

Small group (3-4 students)

The National Science Education Standards
Science and Technology:

Teacher Background:

Abilities of technological design

A photomosaic is a picture made up of smaller pictures. It’s a

Science and Technology:

technique often used in astronomy.

Understandings about science and
technology

Why create a photomosaic?
Have you ever tried to take a picture of something very

The National Social Studies Standards

large? If you stand far enough away to get the entire object,
it’s difficult to impossible to see any of the small details in

Additional
Resources
For examples
of Nasa
photomosaics
from space, see
http://nix.nasa.
gov and search for
photomosaics

People, Places and Environments:

the developed picture. Photomosaics allow scientists to take

Use appropriate resources, data

many close up pictures that include lots of detail and then

sources, and geographic tools such

fit them together to create one large image of the whole. It’s a useful technique for

as atlases, data bases, grid systems,

astronomers, who use it frequently when taking pictures of the Moon, other planets

carts, graphs, and maps to gener-

or even the Earth.

ate, manipulate, and interpret
information.

Scientists can also use the photomosaic technique under conditions when it is impossible to get one complete image of an object. The site of the Titanic wreck is one such
place. Two and a half miles below the surface of the ocean is a world without light.
Even the most powerful strobe lights only penetrate a few feet. The only way to get a
complete overview of the condition of the Titanic was to take a series of photographs,
each slightly overlapping, and then fit them together to create a complete image. This
complete image allows scientists to identify and measure structural features that
would make no sense otherwise.
To appreciate the benefits of a photomosaic, make one of your own.
Procedure:
1. Take a picture of your object from far enough away to include the whole.
2. Take a series of pictures of your object from a set distance such as four feet. If you
use a disposable camera, read the instructions to determine the closest distance you
can be for a clear picture. Start at the bottom left and work your way to the right,
slightly overlapping the area of each image.
3. When you get to the right side, go back to the left side and stand on a ladder, just

Photomosaic of the planet Mercury.

high enough to overlap the top of the image below.
4. Continue until you have photographed the entire object.
5. Develop the pictures.
6. Fit the close-ups together to make one large image. Compare it to the single photograph of the object. Look for letters, numbers or words in both. In which image is it
possible to see the smallest print? (photomosaic) Which image has more detail?
(photomosaic)

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

23

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Group Size:

Upper elementary, middle, high

Individual

Photomosaic
of Titanic

Objective:

Materials:

Students will understand how a pho-

One copy per student (or team) of the

tomosaic is used to obtain detailed

mosaic images

information about an object by piec-

Tape

ing together a simulation of the
Titanic
Estimated Time:
One class period

The National Science Education Standards
Science and Technology:

Teacher Background:

Abilities of technological design

In 1998, Paul Matthias of Polaris

Science and Technology:

Imaging made a complete photo-

Understandings about science and

mosaic of the wreck of the

technology

Titanic. Using two cameras synchronized with two strobe lights,
he took over 3,000 electronic

The National Social Studies Standards

images stored on computer disks.
The task of fitting them together

People, Places and Environments:

took almost a year to complete.

Use appropriate resources, data

The information gained is

sources, and geographic tools such

invaluable for the scientists and

as atlases, data bases, grid systems,

engineers studying the wreck. It shows that the bow of the

carts, graphs, and maps to gener-

ship hit the bottom while still mostly intact while the stern

ate, manipulate, and interpret

shows signs of massive implosions/explosions.

information.
Procedure:
1. Distribute a copy of the mosaic images to each student.
Have them cut them apart, marking the number of the
image on the back.
2. Have the students tape the images together in order.
Number one is the top left image. Number two will fit just
below it, slightly overlapping. Continue fitting images
together until the image doesn’t seem to fit below—try
putting it to the right of image #1. Continue placing

Additional
Resources
To access a
labeled copy of
the Titanic
photomosaic,
go to the RMS
Titanic website,
www.titaniconline.com
To see how
scientists created
the Titanic
photomosaic,
view Titanic:
Answers from the
Abyss, Discovery
Channel Video,
1998. Contact
Discovery
Channel School
at 888-892-3484
to obtain information on additional
resources.

images down the column. Continue until all images have
been placed together.
3. Have students compare their photomosaic image to the original. Which makes
more sense—one individual image or the entire photomosaic?
Note to teacher: Give younger students a copy of the original image and let them place
the mosaic pieces on top of it as an aid.

24

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

7

5

6

9

8

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

25

26

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

3

2

1

10

4

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

27

28

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

PART THREE

Communication
Radio as a means of communication was

During the first three days of the trip,

in its infancy in 1912. There were fewer

Titanic received at least seven radio mes-

than 100 commercial stations in the entire

sages concerning icebergs. It also received

United States and less than 400 shipboard

a blinker message about ice from a ship it

stations. Titanic’s communication system

passed one night. Titanic’s distress mes-

was state of the art. It had the most power-

sages were heard by several ships as well as

ful radio shipboard transmitter available

a land based station in Cape Race,

with a range of 500 miles. Most other

Newfoundland. Her distress rockets were

ships at the time didn’t have a radio at all.

seen by at least one ship. Yet with all of

Even ships with radios usually only had

this, it wasn’t enough to avert the deaths

sets with a range of less than 200 miles.

of over 1,500 people.

ACTIVITY

Grade Levels:

Materials:

Upper elementary, middle, high

These are suggestions only. Let your

Communication

Objective:

students use their imaginations!

Students will develop alternative

Colored paper

forms of communication for ships at

Fabric

sea

Flashlights

Time:

Crayons

One period

Markers

Group Size:

Noise Makers

Small group (2-4)

Worksheet, “Failure to Communicate”

WHAT WE HAVE
HERE IS A FAILURE TO
COMMUNICATE

or

The National Science Education Standards

Teacher Background
(to be shared with students after the activity)

Science as Inquiry:

Long before the invention of radio, people found ways to

Abilities necessary to do scientific

communicate with and between ships at sea. One of the most

inquiry

basic was with the use of flags. National flags quickly told

Science as Inquiry:

ships which country other ships were from. If ships were from

Understanding about scientific

friendly nations, they might pull along side each other to

inquiry

exchange news or supplies. On the other hand, if they were at

Science and Technology:

war, they might choose to run or fight. A national flag flown

Abilities of technological design

upside down is a sign of a ship in distress, calling for help.

Science and Technology:
Understanding about science and

Ships also used other flags or pennants to convey messages to

technology

each other. There is an entire alphabet and number system

Additional
Resources
International
Marine Signal
Flags:
http://www.anbg.
gov.au/flags/
signal-flags.html
Additional
Resources
continued on the
following page...

that uses flags. For most situations ships don’t actually spell
out entire words, they use abbreviations or single flags that
have a special meaning. Ships were (and are) assigned short,

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

29

Additional
Resources

four character combinations of flags

two hours longer than the ship

to identify them. Titanic’s signal flags

was able to remain afloat.

were HVMP. These were assigned by
For more about
the Californian
controversy:
The Californian
Incident by Leslie
Harrison (date
unknown)

the Registrar General of the General

So was there another ship within

Register and Record Office Shipping

visual range of Titanic? And why

and Seamen in Great Britain.

didn’t it respond?

Since Titanic sank at night, it never

The closest known ship was the

used its signal flags, which are only

Californian, which according to its

Titanic and the
Californian by
Peter Padfield,
1965

have other means of communicating

useful during the day. It did, however,

calculations was about nineteen
miles to the north of Titanic during the critical time period.

at night. Ships carried white mast
lights as well as lights on the sides—

6am that the captain decided to wake the wireless operator and
ask him to try to contact the ship to their south. At this point,

Believe it or not, there was a

he received the news that Titanic had struck an iceberg and sunk

"mystery" ship to the north of

during the night. In less than an hour, the Californian was able to

Titanic that night. It was close

move to the last known coordinates of Titanic, just in time to see

enough to be seen from Titanic

Carpathia picking up the last of the survivors.

and from its lifeboats. Titanic’s

A blinker light was used to
send Morse code messages
at night.

officers estimated that this

Was Titanic’s mystery ship the Californian? Was Californian’s

unknown ship was about five

mystery ship the Titanic? This is one of the most debated points

miles away. They tried communi-

in the Titanic story, with passionate arguments on both side of

cating with it using the Morse

the story. At the very least, it demonstrates the problems that

code blinker lamp. The officers

ships in 1912 experienced in trying to communicate without the

stared at the lights of the other ship, but never felt that they

use of the wireless.

received an answer.
Titanic also sent up eight distress rockets. These were white rockets that burst into stars with a loud blast.
When the Carpathia—the first ship to arrive after the sinking—
appeared, green flares in the lifeboats were lit to guide Carpathia
to the scene. When Titanic began to sink, Carpathia was 58 miles
away. It took it four hours to get to the site where Titanic sank—

30

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

STUDENT WORKSHEET

Failure to Communicate
In 1912, wireless (radio) communication was relatively new.
Many ships went to sea without it. And on ships that had it,
such as Titanic, there was always the chance that it might
break down.
Ships had sailed for thousands of years without radios.
But that didn’t mean that they didn’t have various
methods of communicating with each other.
Your task: Work with the people in your group to develop
other ways of communicating across a distance. Test your
methods by sending signals to your team members on the
other side of the classroom.
Things to keep in mind:
1.

Your signals must be clear at a distance of at least 30 feet--

for a ship at sea, the distance would be measured in miles
2.

You must be able to communicate some things

quickly, including
• Distress—need assistance
• Medical problems
• We are about to sail
• The identity of your ship
3.

Can your signals be understood at night? Or would you

need another signaling method after dark?

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

31

BAcKGrouND

Wireless Radio
and Titanic

and over 1,000 at night. During its trials,

ed icebergs and field ice. The message

Titanic was able to establish communica-

from Mesaba came in at 9:40 p.m. but

tion with stations over 2,000 miles away.

was never delivered to the bridge because
Titanic had recently come in range of the

The signal generated was extremely

Cape Race, Newfoundland land station

broad. A spark transmitter tuned to send

and the single operator on duty at that

a signal out on 400 meters (750 kHz)

time, Jack Phillips, was too busy trans-

would actually generate a signal from

mitting passenger messages.

about 250 meters (1200 kHz) to 550
meters (545 kHz). Ships, because of their
restricted antenna length, were limited to
frequencies between 450 and 600 meters
(666 to 500 kHz). One transmitter could
Teacher Background

take up this entire spectrum, so it was

Radio waves are a part of the electromag-

important for stations to cooperate and

netic spectrum that includes radio waves,

stand by when others were transmitting.

microwaves, visible light and x-rays.
Radio waves are the longest electromag-

In 1912, some sea-going ships carried

netic waves that can easily be produced

wireless radios but some didn’t. Most of

and detected. The wavelengths range

the ships that did carry wireless only had

from a few yards to thousands of miles.

one radio operator. When that person

AM radio waves are about 1,000 feet in

went to bed, the radio was turned off.

length—long enough to bend around the

Radio operators were employees of the

curve of the earth. FM stations use radio

company that owned the equipment

waves only a few feet in wavelength.

rather than ship’s officers, so they some-

At 10:30 p.m., the captain of the

These waves do not bend around the

times gave priority to commercial mes-

Californian, Stanley Lord, asked his radio

earth, so FM stations are limited to line-

sages over ship’s business or refused to

operator to advise Titanic that they were

Wireless room, similar to Titanic’s

communicate with ships

surrounded by ice and were stopped. At

that used a competitor’s

this point, the Californian was located

equipment.

less than 20 miles from Titanic. The operator sent a message “Say, Old Man, we are

spark was keyed on and off to generate
the dots and dashes of Morse code.
Transmitting rages varied from as little as
600 feet with a 1/2 inch coil to around
100 miles from a kilowatt station and a
15-inch spark coil. Ships at sea with 5KW
transmitters, such as the Titanic, could
get as much as 400 miles during the day

Perhaps he felt the paid-for passenger
messages deserved priority. No one will
ever know because Jack Phillips died that
night. After getting cut off, the
Californian’s operator went to bed. When
he came back on line the next morning,
the first message he received reported
that Titanic had sunk during the night.

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

The American inquiry
into the Titanic disaster
was handled by
Michigan Senator
William Alden Smith.
On May 18, 1912, Senator
Smith introduced a bill
into the Senate. Among
its provisions were: 1)
ships carrying 60 passengers or more must
have a wireless set with
a minimum range of
100 miles; 2) wireless
sets must have an auxiliary power supWireless also played a role in playing a

worked with the radio operator on the
Carpathia to send numerous messages.

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

33

ACTIVITY

Grade Levels:

Group Size:

Upper elementary, middle, high

Small group (2-3)

Wireless Radio

Objectives:

Materials

Students will produce and detect

AM radio (one per team)

homemade radio waves similar to

Insulated copper wire (18-24 AWG)—

those used on the Titanic.

available from electronics or hardware

Students will try to develop commu-

store

nication codes and protocols for wire-

Metal fork (one per team)

less transmissions.

Masking or electrical tape

Time:

1 “C” or “D” flashlight battery (one per

One class period

team)

The National Science Education Standards
Science as Inquiry:

Teacher Background:

Abilities necessary to do scientific

Wireless communication (radio) was very much in its infancy in 1912. Guglielmo

inquiry

Marconi, considered by most to be the inventor of the practical radio, sent his first sig-

Science as Inquiry:

nal over a distance of two miles in 1896—less than twenty years earlier.

Understanding about scientific
inquiry

In 1912, wireless communication still consisted of messages sent in Morse code—a

Physical Science:

series of dots and dashes.

Transfer of energy
As in many other things, Titanic was on the cutting edge of technology. It not only
had a powerful wireless system, it even had two radio operators, allowing 24-hour per
day coverage. During most of the voyage, even Titanic’s powerful transmitter/receiver
was out of the range of land, so messages were few and mainly concerned navigational
information, including ice warnings received from other ships.
To understand what wireless messages sounded like in 1912, students can construct a
simple wireless transmitter.
Procedure:
1.

Ask students to bring in inexpensive

AM radios from home.
2. Divide the class into small groups of
2-3 students. Each group should have a
radio, two 25-centimeter lengths of wire,
a metal fork, tape, and a battery. Note:
Expose about 1 centimeter of wire from
each end using a knife or wire stripper.
3.

Have students securely tape the bare

end of one length of wire to the end of
the battery and repeat with the second
wire at the other end of the battery. Wrap the free end of one of the wires tightly
around the handle of the fork and tape it in place, making sure that the bare copper
is touching the fork handle.
4. Ask each team to turn on its radio to the AM band and turn the dial all the way in
one direction so that all they hear is static.

34

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Wireless Radio

5. Holding the fork close to the radio, students should stroke the bare end of the
other wire across the fork’s prongs. If they don’t hear corresponding sounds from
the radio, they should check their connections.
6. How far can the wireless transmit? (Results may vary from just a couple feet to over
20 feet) How can you increase/decrease the signal strength? (Signal strength can be
modified in several ways. Tightly wrapping the wire around the fork or wrapping it
more times around the fork will increase the signal. The size and strength of the
battery will also make a difference) Can different teams pick up each others
signals? (Probably) Have students work out ways to avoid interfering with each
other’s signals. (Taking turns, decreasing the signal strength)

Continued from previous page...
7. Have each team work out codes for different actions, such as smiling or waving.
Have one person secretly transmit the code and the others in the team respond.
Were they successful? If not, why not?
International Morse Code
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T

dence regarding the sinking of the
Titanic was eyewitness accounts. No
physical remains were available for any-

Survivor Stories

one to study in order to determine exactly what parts of the ship broke or failed,
causing it to sink.
On TV trial shows, eyewitness testimony
always seems so honest and dramatic.
After all, the person was actually there.
What could be more conclusive than an
eyewitness?
In actuality, eyewitnesses often miss, forget or misinterpret important details or
even lie. Stress enhances the likelihood
that something will be remembered, but
also limits the focus of memory. Was the
robber 5’10” or 6’ 2”? What color were
the eyes or hair? Did you see the Titanic
break in two or not? What was the angle
of descent? What lifeboat were you on?
How did you get there?

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Materials:

Upper elementary, middle, high

Copies of survivor's biographies or tes-

Survivors’
Testimonies

Objective:

timonies. Excellent sources of these

Students will read biographies and tes-

include:

timonies of Titanic survivors to recog-

“Encyclopedia Titanica” at

nize that accounts of the tragedy vary

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org.

from person to person

“Titanic Inquiry Project” at

Time:

http://www.titanicinquiry.org

1-2 hours of homework
Group Size:

The National Science Education Standards

Individual

Life Science:

Due to the continuing fascination with Titanic, it's easy to

Regulation and behavior

access biographies and the original testimonies of Titanic

Additional
Resources

survivors. Read some of the biographies or testimonies to

The National Social Studies Standards

find out how people survived and what happened to them
after their experience on Titanic.

Time, Continuity, and Change:
Demonstrate an understanding

One place to start is at “Encyclopedia Titanica,” www.ency-

that different people may describe

clopedia-titanica.org, which contains biographies of most

the same event or situation in

of the passengers and crew of Titanic, with direct links to

diverse ways, citing reasons for the

contemporary newspaper articles and sometimes their testi-

differences in views.

monies at either the American or British Inquiries. In addition, the "Titanic Inquiry Project" at www.titanicinquiry.org
contains the complete texts of the American and British
Inquiries into the disaster, referenced by witness name.

36

Story of the Titanic
as Told by its
Survivors, Dover
Publications, 1960
Titanic Voices:
Memories from the
Fateful Voyage by
Donald Hyslop,
Alastair Forsyth,
Sheila Jemima.
1994

Compare and contrast different
stories or accounts about past
events, people, places, or situations,

Bruce Ismay

identifying how they contribute

Questions to Consider:

to our understanding of the past.

• What acts of heroism did any of these people do or witness?

Time, Continuity, and Change:

• What acts of cowardice did any of these people do or witness?

Identify and use various sources

• How did these people survive?

for reconstructing the past, such as

• What incentive would a man have for lying about how he got into a lifeboat?

documents, letters, diaries, maps,

(Some men who entered lifeboats directly from Titanic were viewed as cowards

textbooks, photos, and others.

for the rest of their lives including Bruce Ismay and Masabumi Hosono)
• Do any of the testimonies contradict each other? (Robert Hichens and Major
Peuchen)
• Do any of these testimonies talk about the same events with a different perspective (Dr. and Mrs. Washington Dodge: in his accounts, Dr. Dodge praised the
courage he observed as he waited on Titanic for a chance to get into a lifeboat.
Mrs. Dodge, who entered an early lifeboat without her husband, criticized people
in the lifeboat for their lack of courage and refusal to go back to Titanic to save
more people.)

Augustus Weikman

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

37

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Group Size:

Upper elementary, middle, high

Classroom demonstration

Estimating the
Angles

Objective:

Materials:

Students will understand how percep-

Folding table or sheet of plywood

tion influences judgement and how

Protractor

perception can differ from person to

Blindfolds

person based on factors such as prior
experience and position.
Time:
One class period

The National Science Education Standards
Science as Inquiry:

One of the puzzling aspects of Titanic’s sinking has been the

Abilities necessary to do scientific

variety of different angles that people claim for the ship as it

inquiry

sank. Some people say it was perpendicular to the sea (90°)

Science as Inquiry:

while others say it was 45° or 60°. The latest computer models

Understanding about scientific

put the angle of descent at much less (12°). With a ship the size

inquiry

of Titanic, even this slight angle of descent would be enough

Life Science:

to raise her propellers out of the water. It also agrees with

Regulation and behavior

Charles Lightoller’s testimony that he swam from the bridge
area of Titanic to her crow’s nest. For the bridge and crow’s
nest to be at the same level, the angle would be around 12°.

that different people may describe
the same event or situation in
diverse ways, citing reasons for the
difference in views.

angle. Use the protractor to measure the angle.

Testimonies of
Charles Lightoller,
John Thayer Jr.

3. Blindfold the volunteers, bring them in and have them lie
down in varying positions around the table.
4. Remove the blind folds and tell them to observe the table and write down their estimates as to the angle.
5.

Compare their answers to the actual

measurement. How accurate were they?
What factors might affect their success in
accurately determining the angle? (Prior
experience in estimating angles, position—
people directly facing the front or back will
have difficulty because of the lack of perspective.)
Ask students what factors would affect
Titanic survivor’s memories of the angle of
descent (inexperience in estimating angles,
the excitement of the moment, location—if
they were in a lifeboat floating under the
ship’s propellers vs to the side of the ship).

Sketches based on the memory of John (Jack)
Thayer, a 17-year-old survivor, as drawn by L.D.
Skidmore, a passenger on the Carpathia.

38

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Testing
Eyewitness
Memory

Teacher Background:
These two procedures reveal different
aspects of memory. In the first variation,
the element of surprise may make students
pay more attention. Research has shown
that stress, leading to higher levels of attention, increases the accuracy of memory but
decreases the amount of information that
witnesses remember. In other words, witnesses under stress tend to experience tun-

Grade Level:
All
Objective:
Students will understand how eyewitness testimony may not be completely accurate
Materials:
Odd clothing, noisemakers, objects
1-3 assistants

nel vision. What they remember of the
things they focus on may be very accurate,
but they can’t see the big picture.

The National Science Education Standards
The second procedure tests the suggestibility of memory. Students have plenty of time
Science as Inquiry:

to accurately observe the scene, but when asked about something not in the scene,

Abilities necessary to do scientific

they will try to please the questioner by remembering something that wasn’t there.

inquiry
Science as Inquiry:

Titanic survivors probably experienced both of these. Certainly the sinking of the ship

Understanding about scientific

was stressful enough for people to pay attention, but that same stress caused them to

inquiry

focus on smaller pieces of the event. When asked about something that they probably

Life Science:

witnessed, they might not remember it or might subconsciously manufacture a

Regulation and behavior

memory.
Procedure, variation 1

The National Social Studies Standards

1. In secret, dress an assistant (another teacher or school staffer) in a distinctive set of
clothing. Provide the person with a noise maker(s) or other objects.

Time, Continuity and Change:
Demonstrate an understanding
that different people may describe
the same event or situation in
diverse ways, citing reasons for the
difference in views.

2. While you are conducting your class as normal, have the assistant make a short surprise appearance—perhaps running through the class.
3. After the assistant has left the room, give each student a sheet of paper and ask them
to record what just happened. They should try to be as detailed as possible, including information about what the person looked like, dressed, and acted.
4. Collect the results and compare them to the actual assistant.
Procedure, variation 2:
1. Have two assistants act out a scene such as eating a picnic lunch. Let the class
observe for 3-5 minutes.
2. Have the assistants leave the room.
3. Ask students questions about the scene and have them write down their answers on
a sheet of paper. Include both questions that really could have been observed (how
many people were there) but also have questions about objects not in the scene
(what color was Joe’s hat).
4. Compare results. Many people will vividly remember the hat, even though it wasn’t
actually present, just because a question was asked about it.
Ask students what these experiments show about the memory of Titanic survivors?
(They could be incomplete, inaccurate.) How can we improve our confidence in an eyewitness memory? (Compare to other accounts, try to ask open-ended questions that
don’t influence the witness, evaluate whether or not the witnesses prior experiences
would make them able to make accurate observations about the circumstance)

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

39

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Group Size:

Upper elementary, middle school, and

Individual or small group

Could More
Have
Been Saved?

high school

Materials:

Objective:

Worksheet, “Could More Have Been

Students will creatively problem solve

Saved”

The National Science Education Standards

to develop means which might have
increased survivorship during the
Titanic disaster.
Time:
One class period or homework

One of the simplest ways to increase the number of people
saved would have been to fully load the lifeboats. Taking this step alone could have

Time, Continuity, and Change:

saved nearly 500 more people. A number of reasons exist to explain why this wasn’t

Use knowledge of facts and con-

done originally. People were reluctant to board some of the first lifeboats launched,

cepts drawn from history, along

refusing to believe the seriousness of the problem. Women refused to be separated

with elements of historical inquiry,

from their husbands and sons. The crew was afraid at first to load the boats to capaci-

to inform decision making about

ty, fearing that the davits wouldn't support the weight of the loaded boats as they were

and action-taking on public issues.

lowered down the

People, Places, and Environments:

sides. It wasn't until

Propose, compare, and evaluate

later that one of the

alternative uses of land and

Titanic’s designers told

resources in communities, regions,

them that the davits

nations, and the world.

had been designed to
handle fully loaded
lifeboats. The early
lifeboats were instructed to row toward lights
apparently from a ship that could be seen in the distance. If they could have reached
this mystery ship, they might have been able to summon help for the rest of the passengers. Even when Captain Smith used a megaphone to call for lifeboats to come
back toward Titanic to pick up more people, none did for fear of getting pulled under
when the ship went down.

40

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Could More
Have
Been Saved?

Very few of the people who died actually drowned. Most of the people on board were
wearing life preservers that were designed to keep the head out of the water. The
major cause of death was hypothermia. None of the lifeboats in the area returned to
the scene until after the screaming stopped. A few people were able to locate floating
objects buoyant enough to support them until they were picked up by lifeboats that
returned to the scene after Titanic disappeared.
Charles Joughin (left), chief baker, threw at least 50 deck chairs
overboard. He eventually survived by clinging to an overturned
lifeboat.
Augustus Weikman (right), the ship’s barber, clung to 3 chairs
until a lifeboat picked him up.

Continued from previous page...
A Chinese sailor tied himself to a door and was picked up by a
lifeboat.
Passengers on board the Bremen, a ship that passed the site of the
sinking a week later, reported the following:
“New York, Wednesday. The North German liner Bremen, which arrived here (New York)
this morning, reports having passed seven icebergs on Saturday last (4/19) in the locality
where the Titanic disaster occurred. Many bodies were seen floating in the water around
the spot where the liner sank. All bore lifebelts. Some of them are described as clasping
the bodies of children, and others as still gripping deck chairs and other objects. The officers of the Bremen estimated that in one group there were two hundred corpses.”
—London Daily Sketch, Thursday, April 25, 1912.

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

41

STUDENT WORKSHEET

Could More Have Been Saved?

Your Task:
Imagine that you are the captain of the Titanic. You’ve just
been told that the ship is going to sink in about two hours.

What is hypothermia?
A body temperature of less than 96°
F, only a couple of degrees below

You know that you have only enough lifeboats for about half

the norm of 98.6° F, can cause an

of the people on board. Is there anything else that you can do

irregular heartbeat leading to heat

to maximize the number of people saved? The air temperature

failure and death. A body can cool
down 25 times faster in cold water

is 33° F, and the water temperature is 27° F. Prolonged exposure

than in air. Water temperature,

to the cold leads to a condition called hypothermia, which

body size, amount of body fat and

can be deadly.
Consider:
What materials might be on the
Titanic that could float or be made
to float?
What other resources are available
nearby?
Could you increase the capacity of the
existing lifeboats?

movement in the water all plays a
part in cold water survival.

Exhaustion or
Unconciousness
Water
Expected
Temperature
Survival Time
32.5°F

<15 min.

<15-45 min

32.5°-40°

15-30 min.

30-90 min

40°-50°

30-60 min.

1-3 hrs

50°-60°

1-2 hrs

1-6 hrs

60°-70°

2-7 hrs

2-40 hrs

70°-80°

3-12 hrs

3 hrs +

Over 80°

Indefinite

Indefinite

Hypothermia caused by frigid water is the greatest danger. Try
to keep people dry.

Chances for recovery depend on
how long a person was exposed to

Background:
When Titanic was full, it was capable of carrying 3,295 passen-

the cold and his/her general health.
If body temperature has not
dropped below 90° F, chances for a

gers and crew. Fortunately, Titanic sailed on its maiden voyage

total recovery are usually good. If

with only 2,228 people.

body temperature has fallen to
between 80° F and 90° F, most people will recover, but some lasting

British Board of Trade regulations at the time only required

damage is likely. If the temperature

enough lifeboats on a ship of her size for approximately 960

goes under 80°F, most victims will

people. Titanic actually exceeded these requirements, by put-

not survive.

ting to sea with twenty lifeboats capable of holding a maximum of 1,178 passengers and crew.
Only 705 people were saved. If Titanic had been filled to capacity, it would have taken 63 lifeboats to evacuate everyone.

42

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

PART FIVe

The Fate of Titanic
and its Artifacts

Since its sinking, Titanic and its contents have existed in an environment
drastically different than found on
the surface of the world. Salt water,
high pressure, acidic sediments have
all taken their toll. The ship itself is
disappearing beneath tons of rust.
Artifacts brought to the surface deteriorate quickly unless immediate
steps are taken to preserve them.

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Grouping:

Elementary, middle, high

Small group or class demonstration

Rust in
the Classroom

Objective:

Materials:

Students will observe how the forma-

Uncoated iron nails (hardware store)

tion of rust varies under different con-

Water

ditions.

Salt

Time:

Sugar

15 minutes to set up, several days to

Small containers

complete

The National Science Education Standards
Physical Science:

Teacher Background:

Properties of objects and materials.

The Titanic is covered with rust. Rust is the common name for iron oxide (Fe2O3)
formed when iron corrodes. Actually, corrosion is just the process by which a refined
metal such as steel goes back to its natural state.
The same properties that make iron a good conductor of electricity (free electrons)
cause it to corrode quickly in a moist environment. Iron and oxygen (found in air and
water) exchange electrons more easily in the presence of water. Salt water provides an
even better environment for corrosion.
To observe the process of rusting in the classroom, do the following:
Procedure:
1. Fill two small containers with water. To one, add a teaspoon of salt.
2. Put a nail into each container.
3. Observe the nails in each of the containers daily for a week. Which nail shows signs
of rust first? (Teacher note: it should be the nail with salt that accelerates the corrosion of the iron nail. If however, the plain tap water quickly shows signs of the nail
rusting then maybe there are rust problems in the hot water heater and pipes!)

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

43

ACTIVITY

Grade Level:

Materials:

Middle, high

Slide film

Rust on
the Titanic

Objective:

Aida cloth (available at stitching/craft

Students will discover that the action

shops)

of microbes can be detected using

Needle

photographic slide film.

Thread

Time:

Soil

Class period to set up, one week to run

Aquarium water

Group Size:

Microscope or slide projector

Small group (3-4)

The National Science Education Standards
Science as Inquiry:

Teacher Background:

Abilities to do scientific inquiry

Since iron naturally corrodes in salt water, no one was surprised

Science as Inquiry:

to see signs of rust on the Titanic. Much of the rust was in

Understanding about scientific

the form of reddish-brown stalactites, which scientists

inquiry

dubbed “rusticles”. No one paid too much attention to the

Physical Science:

rusticles, or the rust in general until the gymnasium roof,

Properties and changes of proper-

intact in 1994, caved in, along with the canopy of the crow’s

ties in matter

nest. Scientists soon realized that the structural integrity of

Life Science:

the Titanic was weakening over time. Could the rusticles pro-

Structure and function in living

vide information about the cause and rate of the deteriora-

systems

tion?

Life Science:
Diversity and adaptations of

As the rusticles were considered,

organisms

scientists noticed a resemblance
between them and growths caused
by iron related bacteria that plug
pipes, screens and pumps in water wells. Could the rusticles be
the result of bacteria that were actually eating the Titanic? Or
was the rusticle simply a physical change brought on by the
high pressure, high salinity (salt) environment?
Dr. Roy Cullimore, a
microbiologist specializ-

Additional
Resources
Dr. Roy
Cullimore's
research on
Titanic, including
projections about
how long the ship
will remain intact,
are described on
his website:
www.dbi.sk.ca
Titanic: Anatomy
of a Disaster,
Discovery
Channel Video,
1997. Contact
Discovery Channel
School at
888-892-3484
to obtain information on additional
resources.

ing in iron-related bacteria in water wells, joined
the 1996 and 1998 expedition teams. His job was
to determine whether there were bacteria present
on the Titanic and if there were, was there any
way to determine how fast they were destroying
the ship.

Dr. Roy Cullimore and his assistant,
Lori Johnston

To determine whether there were bacteria present, Dr. Cullimore performed a simple test. He
took unexposed color slide film and developed it.

He then put the black slides into bags made from Aida cloth. Aida cloth is woven with
evenly spaced small holes, providing a way for the bacteria to enter the bag. If bacteria
were present on the Titanic, they would consume the protein emulsion on the slide
film. The colors released would stain the Aida cloth, signaling that it was time to pick
up the experiment. The slides could be viewed under a microscope or by using a slide

44

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Rust on
the Titanic

projector. Bacterial activity would show as complexes of colored patterns caused by
the microbes eating away the gelatin.
You can conduct the same experiment.
Procedure:
1. Purchase a roll of slide film and get it developed immediately. The resulting slides
will be black.
2. Create little bags out of the Aida cloth large enough to hold one slide. The holes in
the Aida cloth provide the microbes with a way to get to the slide film while still
protecting it from debris and damage.
3. Bury some of the bagged slides just under the surface of soil that is kept damp but

Continued from previous page...

not soaked. Suspend other bags in aquarium water. Note: The silver salts in the slide
film might harm fish. Instead of using an actual aquarium, move some of the
aquarium water and bottom gravel to a new container.
4. Remove one slide per day and examine it. Bacterial growth will show as branching
tunnels etched onto the slide, visible with the naked eye. Deeper tunnels can be
seen using the microscope or slide projector. Note: Bacterial growth typically slows
during colder weather. If this experiment is done when daytime highs are below
sixty degrees, it may take a few days before results can be seen.
Results from the Titanic
When Dr. Cullimore collected his samples after twenty days, he was able to see complex tunnels and patterns caused by the bacteria as they ate their way through the
protein on the slide while avoiding the silver salts. This proved that bacteria were alive
and well on Titanic.

A section of Titanic on the ocean
floor, covered with rusticles

To determine just what kinds of bacteria were present, Dr. Cullimore
collected samples of rusticles, which he took back to his laboratory.
So far, he has found that the rusticles are extremely complex structures, inhabited and created by a variety of different microbes that
include iron-related bacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria and fungi.
Iron related bacteria (IRB) live on organic matter present in water. As
they grow, they create a coating in which they deposit iron oxides,
giving the growths an orange to brown to black color.
The interior of the rusticle contains a complex system of channels that move water
throughout. When dried, a rusticle typically has an iron content of 20-30 percent.
Titanic began as iron ore that was mined, refined into steel and shaped into a ship. The
rusticles are returning it to iron ore.
Rusticles are currently attached to over 80% of Titanicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hull. Preliminary calculations
indicate that as of 1996 the mass of rusticles may weigh 650 tons, which would
include as much as 175 tons of iron. Dr. Cullimore and others calculated that the internal minimum surface area of the rusticles was almost 6,280 square miles.
Eventually the rusticles will mine enough of the iron out of Titanicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s structure that
the ship will collapse. When that will occur is still under study. Estimates range from
15 to 450 years.

of iron can explode, fizzle or steam when exposed to the
corrosive oxygen in air. When objects soaked in sea water
begin to dry out, the salts that have embedded them crystal-

The National Social Studies Standards

lize, taking up more space and causing minute fractures that
can rupture the glazes on ceramics. Wood, leather, paper and

Time, Continuity, and Change:

other organic objects can also deteriorate quickly if allowed

Identify and use various sources

to dry, since bacteria and fungi grow more quickly when

for reconstructing the past, such as

items are exposed to light and oxygen.

documents, letters, diaries, maps,
textbooks, photos, and others.

As soon as artifacts are recovered from the sea, they are stabilized for shipment. After careful cleaning with a soft
brush, they are place in foam-lined tubs of water and then

Rivet from the Titanic

transferred to a conservation laboratory on land.
Once the objects arrive at the lab, they are washed repeatedly in deionized water to
leach out salts from the surface. Salts and other impurities that have accumulated
deep within an object require a variety of special treatments, based on the material.
Electrolysis is effective for restoring metal objects. Conservators place metal objects
in chemical baths, wiring them to a negative battery terminal, and covering them
with a metal cage connected to a positive terminal. The current pulls the negative
ions and salt out of the artifact, effectively removing the corrosion. Electric currents
can remove salts from paper, leather and wood as well. These materials are also treated with chemicals to remove rust and fumigated if they appear to be contaminated
with mold. Polyethylene glycol, a water-soluble wax, is injected into wood and
leather objects to fill the spaces left by the water as it evaporates.
Nobody expected that paper would have survived so long at the bottom of the
ocean, but the Titanic is a treasure trove of sheet music, personal letters, postcards

46

ACTIVITy GuIde | TITANIC scIence

ACTIVITY

Artifact
Conservation

and even paper money. Papers are conserved by freeze-drying, which removes all the
water. They are then treated to protect them against mold and are resized to restore
their shape. Papers are stored in the dark, with temperature and humidity strictly
regulated. Along with conserving an object for the future comes the question of
whether or not it should be restored to its original condition. The conservators working on the Titanic artifacts have chosen to do a minimum amount of restoration,
believing that the story of the wreck is best told by allowing the objects to show the
signs of their internment two and a half miles below the surface of the ocean. The
immense pressure at that depth has crushed hollow-handled knives and forks and
pushed corks into wine bottles.

The National Science Education Standards

Procedure:
1. Crumple and tear a photograph. Note: the use of photographs in this activity is
more realistic, but only use photos that can be safely sacrificed. If you cannot find
any sacrificial photos, use a piece of notebook paper. Tell the class that they are
museum conservators and that this photograph is an important artifact, found on
the Titanic. As museum conservators (scientists who work to preserve artifacts) they
have been asked to conserve and restore the artifact. How would they go about this
task?
2. Define conservation and restoration. Conserving an object means to protect it from
being damaged any more than it already is. Restoring an object means to make it
look as close to its original condition as possible.
3. Explain that the first job is to conserve the artifact. Anything that is done to it at
this point might damage it further. Question: how could they damage the object
just by touching it (dirt and oil from their hands, accidentally tear it). Ask students
to brainstorm ways they could handle the photo so that it will not be further
harmed (answers will vary but could include wearing gloves, washing hands, using
tweezers).
4. The next task is to restore the artifact. What did the photograph looked like in its
original condition? Ask students to brainstorm how they could restore the object so
that it would be close to its original condition. How could they get rid of the wrinkles? How could they get it to lie flat? How could they put it back together?
5. Divide the class into groups of 2-3 students. Each group will receive the following
materials:
• Small pieces of a photograph (or construction paper) soaking in a container of
cold salt water.
• Sheet of plain white paper, randomly torn into 3-5 pieces
• Large paper clip, bent and twisted
• Pencil, broken in half
• Tape, glue, stapler, paper towels to dry the wet paper
6. Tell the students that these are important artifacts found at the wreckage site of the
Titanic. For each object, students will:
• Make a plan to conserve the objects.
• Decide what the object originally looked like.
• Make a plan to restore the object
• Use tape, glue, staples or some other method to restore the object so that it looks
as close to new as possible.
Are there any objects in which the goal of conservation may be in conflict with the
goal of restoration (the paper clip may break). Do you think that this problem occurs
for scientists? (Frequently! The conservators for Titanic artifacts have decided to only
restore them enough to conserve them. They feel that the wear and tear that the
objects demonstrate tell people an important part of the Titanic story.)